Assignment Prompt & Instructions
– ## EmploymentLawHRM6302UnitVIICaseStudy.docx
– ## UnitVIIStudyGuide.pdf
**## EmploymentLawHRM6302UnitVIICaseStudy.docx**
2
Employment Law HRM 6302
Unit VII Case Study
Analyze the case of SeaWorld of Florida v. Perez, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 6660 (D.C. Cir.) located in your textbook on pp. 559-564, including the opinion of Judge Rodgers as well as the dissenting opinion of Judge (now-Supreme Court Justice) Brett Kavanaugh.
Write a case study review of the court’s opinion that answers the questions below. Support your review with analysis and evidence from the unit reading and outside sources.
· What are the legal issues enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and presented in this case? How did the plaintiff establish a valid violation under the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act? Explain how the elements of a valid claim were satisfied under the OSH Act.
· How does OSHA enforce workplace safety and health standards?
· Do you agree with the court’s decision? Should or could SeaWorld have done more to abate the hazard? Support your position.
Your paper should be a minimum of five pages, not including the title and reference pages. You are required to use a minimum of three sources, one of which may be your textbook as reference material for your case study. Adhere to APA Style when constructing this assignment, including in-text citations and references for all sources that are used. Please note that no abstract is needed.
This
**Case Study Example** provided by the CSU Writing Center shows this type of formatting.
**## UnitVIIStudyGuide.pdf**
HRM 6302, Employment Law 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
8. Evaluate the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) regulatory power in the context
of workplace safety.
8.1 Summarize the manner in which OSHA enforces workplace safety and health standards.
8.2 Explain the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act.
8.3 Assess a legal case for compliance with OSHA standards.
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 14: Occupational Safety and Health, pp. 551–591
Unit Lesson
The primary objective of workplace safety is the prevention of workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. In
2014, almost 4,821 U.S. workers died from workplace injuries. There were approximately 2.9 million nonfatal
workplace injuries and illnesses (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). These incidents cost businesses huge
sums of money and take a significant toll on the victims and their families. One death is too many, but the
number of deaths, injuries, and illnesses has generally declined over time, due in no small measure to safety
requirements at the federal level. Prior to the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) in
1970, only the common law bound employers to provide employees with a safe workplace. Further,
UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE
Occupational Safety and Health
Occupational Safety
(Pitiquen, n.d.)
HRM 6302, Employment Law 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
employers had several common law defenses that often enabled them to avoid liability. Employees had few
protections from unscrupulous employers who eschewed safety for profit.
The OSH Act covers almost all employers and employees and is critically important to those who support
employment law compliance. Any employer in a business affecting commerce is subject to and covered by
the OSH Act. The limited exceptions to coverage are primarily the self-employed and farms that employ only
immediate family of the owner. Workplaces covered by other federal laws, such as the mining, nuclear,
railroad, and airline industries, as well as state and local governments (unless otherwise permitted by state
law) are also excluded from the OSH Act (OSHA, n.d.-a).
The OSH Act imposes two basic requirements on employers to accomplish the goal of a safe workplace.
First, the employer must comply with all the safety and health standards set by the U.S. Department of Labor
(DOL). Second, the employer must furnish each of its employees a workplace free from recognized hazards
that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which falls under the DOL, is charged with
enforcing the OSH Act. OSHA translates the basic requirements imposed on employers by the OSH Act into
specific actions. OSHA holds employers responsible for proactively adopting safety practices, communicating
them to employees, ensuring employees use them, monitoring working conditions, alerting employees to
potential hazards, and reporting work-related deaths and injuries (OSHA, n.d.-a). OSHA has established
industry standards to inform employers how to guarantee a safe and healthy workplace. The four major
categories of OSHA standards are general, construction, maritime, and agriculture. To determine the industry
standards an employer needs to follow, he or she must determine the appropriate industry code that applies
to the organization within the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
While some OSHA standards are specific to one industry, many of them apply across industries, such as
standards for personal protective equipment and hazardous communication. Most employers will need to
implement a combination of standards including the associated training and safety inspection requirements to
be compliant. OSHA requires that employers prominently display federal workplace health and safety posters
in their workspaces.
To help employers navigate the requirements imposed on them, OSHA’s website contains a wealth of
information for various types of employers, including small businesses. The site’s resources include
interactive tools for both employers and employees. Every state has free workplace consultations available to
small businesses that want onsite help in establishing safety and health programs. This assistance will also
help in identifying and correcting workplace hazards. Additionally, OSHA has a network of compliance
assistance specialists in local offices to provide tailored information and training to employers and employees.
There are 22 states that have OSHA-approved job safety and health programs. These are operated by the
individual states instead of adhering to federal OSHA standards. All state plans are approved and monitored
by OSHA, and they require that state-run safety and health programs must be at least as effective as the
federal program. If the state programs are compliant, OSHA provides as much as 50% of the funding for each
program (OSHA, n.d.-b).
What is the downside of lax compliance with OSHA requirements? After years of a legal anomaly that
prevented OSHA from increasing penalties, in 2016, Congress passed legislation that allowed the agency to
adjust penalties to more appropriate and modern levels. Serious violations of the law increased from $7,000
to $12,471 per violation. Failure to abate dangerous or hazardous conditions rose from $7,000 to $12,471 per
date after the date recorded on an OSHA citation for correction of the violation. In addition, willful or repeated
violations increased from $70,000 to $124,709 per violation (Smith, 2016).
In 2016, OSHA released new injury and illness reporting rules that change the way employers have long done
business and in an unusual twist, call into question employers’ drug testing practices after accidents.
Traditionally, employers track and maintain injury information internally, though fatalities and serious injuries
must be reported to OSHA immediately. The new rule, however, requires electronic submission of the
information by the employer annually to OSHA. In turn, OSHA will then publish the data online for anyone to
access. There are also new requirements related to employee involvement in employer recordkeeping
practices and the prevention of discrimination and retaliation. Employers must inform each employee how to
properly report a work-related injury or illness. Further, employers must establish a reasonable procedure for
employee reporting. A process is not reasonable if it would prevent or discourage a reasonable employee
HRM 6302, Employment Law 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
from correctly reporting a workplace injury or illness. Employers must inform employees of their right to report
injuries and illnesses and inform them that they cannot be fired or discriminated against for reporting
(Petrides, 2016).
The twist is the impact on employer drug testing policies. In conjunction with this new rule, OSHA announced
that policies that call for across-the-board testing after an accident deter employees from reporting injuries
and may not be reasonable. OSHA indicates that employers should engage in post-injury drug testing only
when there is a reasonable potential that drug use by the reporting employee contributed to the injury or
illness and further, only when the test can precisely indicate that impairment was caused by the use of drugs
(Petrides, 2016). This guidance does not appear to prevent testing where there are facts that support that
drugs could have contributed to the incident, such as slurred speech, glazed eyes, stupor, or other signs
generally associated with drug or alcohol intoxication. Beyond this, it may be a challenge to determine when it
is appropriate to drug test employees following reported accidents, injuries, and illnesses.
Workplace violence is an area that can affect all employers and has increasingly been in the forefront of
OSHA’s attention. Workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or
other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the workplace. It includes a wide range of actions from
threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide (OSHA, n.d.-c). It can affect and involve
employees, clients, customers, and visitors. Among many incidents is one in 2010, which occurred as two
dozen employees worked at a Penske truck rental facility near Atlanta. A former employee, dressed in
camouflage, came to the facility and fatally shot three workers and injured two others. Subsequently, a
survivor of one of the workers killed in the shooting sued Penske, claiming that the company had been
making threats to come to the property and hurt employees and that the company therefore had an obligation
to protect its employees (Bluestein, 2010).
According to OSHA (n.d.-c), homicide is the fourth-leading cause of fatal occupational injuries in the United
States accounting for more than 400 of the workplace fatalities in 2014. Further, nearly 2 million American
workers report having been workplace violence victims annually and many cases go unreported (OSHA, n.d.-
c). While there is no magic way to predict where workplace violence will occur, OSHA has identified workers
with elevated risk of being victims of violence as those who exchange money with the public, delivery drivers,
healthcare professionals, public service workers, customer service agents, law enforcement personnel, and
workers who work by themselves or in small groups. Additional risk factors include working in a location
where there is the service of alcohol and working late at night or in areas with known high crime rates.
To combat workplace violence, OSHA recommends employers establish a zero-tolerance policy covering not
only workers, but also anyone exposed to workers in the workplace. Further, employers should assess their
workplaces, identify risk factors, and implement methods of reducing risk. Training, too, can reduce the
incidence of workplace violence and inform workers what concerns they should report, how to report
concerns, and how to respond if an incident occurs.
Clearly, establishing and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace is a goal that requires attention on a daily
basis, not only from HR staff, but also just as importantly from managers and workers. Government entities
such as OSHA protect workers in the workplace and require employers to provide risk reduction and safe
work environments through education, training, and government assistance. Within organizations, employers
must ensure management is knowledgeable about their responsibilities, as well as resources available to help
them achieve safety goals. HR has the responsibility of keeping this critical goal in front of the members of the
organization and avoiding complacency because just one incident can have devastating effects.
References
Bluestein, G. (2010, April 2). Widow: Penske warned of threats before shooting. Boston Globe.
http://archive.boston.com/business/articles/2010/04/02/widow_penske_warned_of_threats_before_sh
ooting/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2016, October 27). Employer-reported workplace injuries and illnesses – 2015
[News release]. U.S. Department of Labor.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/osh_10272016.pdf
HRM 6302, Employment Law 4
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-a). Law and regulations. United States Department of
Labor. https://www.osha.gov/law-regs.html
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-b). State plans. United States Department of Labor.
https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/index.html
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-c). Workplace violence. United States Department of
Labor. https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/
Petrides, T. H. (2016, May 19). OSHA issues new illness and injury recordkeeping rule that casts doubt upon
commonplace employer drug testing and safety incentive policies. The National Law Review, 6(140).
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/osha-issues-new-illness-and-injury-recordkeeping-rule-casts-
doubt-upon-commonplace
Pitiquen, J. (n.d.). Occupational safety (ID 24098844) [Graphic]. Dreamstime.
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-occupational-safety-image24098844
Smith, A. (2016, October 19). Steep new penalties under OSH Act raise compliance concerns. Society for
Human Resource Management. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-
compliance/employment-law/pages/osh-act-penalties.aspx
Suggested Unit Resources
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
The following PowerPoint presentation supplements the textbook chapter reading and is provided for further
knowledge and review of the unit materials.
Chapter 14 presentation (PowerPoint) or Chapter 14 presentation (PDF)
Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.
At the end of each chapter of your textbook, scenario-driven questions provide legal issues and realistic
situations that relate to employment law. Exploring these questions allows you the opportunity to further your
understanding of the concepts in each chapter and prepares you for similar situations you may encounter in
your workplace.
• Review the Chapter 14 questions in your textbook on pages 592–593.
**## UnitVIIStudyGuide.pdf**
HRM 6302, Employment Law 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
8. Evaluate the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) regulatory power in the context
of workplace safety.
8.1 Summarize the manner in which OSHA enforces workplace safety and health standards.
8.2 Explain the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act.
8.3 Assess a legal case for compliance with OSHA standards.
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 14: Occupational Safety and Health, pp. 551–591
Unit Lesson
The primary objective of workplace safety is the prevention of workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. In
2014, almost 4,821 U.S. workers died from workplace injuries. There were approximately 2.9 million nonfatal
workplace injuries and illnesses (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). These incidents cost businesses huge
sums of money and take a significant toll on the victims and their families. One death is too many, but the
number of deaths, injuries, and illnesses has generally declined over time, due in no small measure to safety
requirements at the federal level. Prior to the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) in
1970, only the common law bound employers to provide employees with a safe workplace. Further,
UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE
Occupational Safety and Health
Occupational Safety
(Pitiquen, n.d.)
HRM 6302, Employment Law 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
employers had several common law defenses that often enabled them to avoid liability. Employees had few
protections from unscrupulous employers who eschewed safety for profit.
The OSH Act covers almost all employers and employees and is critically important to those who support
employment law compliance. Any employer in a business affecting commerce is subject to and covered by
the OSH Act. The limited exceptions to coverage are primarily the self-employed and farms that employ only
immediate family of the owner. Workplaces covered by other federal laws, such as the mining, nuclear,
railroad, and airline industries, as well as state and local governments (unless otherwise permitted by state
law) are also excluded from the OSH Act (OSHA, n.d.-a).
The OSH Act imposes two basic requirements on employers to accomplish the goal of a safe workplace.
First, the employer must comply with all the safety and health standards set by the U.S. Department of Labor
(DOL). Second, the employer must furnish each of its employees a workplace free from recognized hazards
that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which falls under the DOL, is charged with
enforcing the OSH Act. OSHA translates the basic requirements imposed on employers by the OSH Act into
specific actions. OSHA holds employers responsible for proactively adopting safety practices, communicating
them to employees, ensuring employees use them, monitoring working conditions, alerting employees to
potential hazards, and reporting work-related deaths and injuries (OSHA, n.d.-a). OSHA has established
industry standards to inform employers how to guarantee a safe and healthy workplace. The four major
categories of OSHA standards are general, construction, maritime, and agriculture. To determine the industry
standards an employer needs to follow, he or she must determine the appropriate industry code that applies
to the organization within the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
While some OSHA standards are specific to one industry, many of them apply across industries, such as
standards for personal protective equipment and hazardous communication. Most employers will need to
implement a combination of standards including the associated training and safety inspection requirements to
be compliant. OSHA requires that employers prominently display federal workplace health and safety posters
in their workspaces.
To help employers navigate the requirements imposed on them, OSHA’s website contains a wealth of
information for various types of employers, including small businesses. The site’s resources include
interactive tools for both employers and employees. Every state has free workplace consultations available to
small businesses that want onsite help in establishing safety and health programs. This assistance will also
help in identifying and correcting workplace hazards. Additionally, OSHA has a network of compliance
assistance specialists in local offices to provide tailored information and training to employers and employees.
There are 22 states that have OSHA-approved job safety and health programs. These are operated by the
individual states instead of adhering to federal OSHA standards. All state plans are approved and monitored
by OSHA, and they require that state-run safety and health programs must be at least as effective as the
federal program. If the state programs are compliant, OSHA provides as much as 50% of the funding for each
program (OSHA, n.d.-b).
What is the downside of lax compliance with OSHA requirements? After years of a legal anomaly that
prevented OSHA from increasing penalties, in 2016, Congress passed legislation that allowed the agency to
adjust penalties to more appropriate and modern levels. Serious violations of the law increased from $7,000
to $12,471 per violation. Failure to abate dangerous or hazardous conditions rose from $7,000 to $12,471 per
date after the date recorded on an OSHA citation for correction of the violation. In addition, willful or repeated
violations increased from $70,000 to $124,709 per violation (Smith, 2016).
In 2016, OSHA released new injury and illness reporting rules that change the way employers have long done
business and in an unusual twist, call into question employers’ drug testing practices after accidents.
Traditionally, employers track and maintain injury information internally, though fatalities and serious injuries
must be reported to OSHA immediately. The new rule, however, requires electronic submission of the
information by the employer annually to OSHA. In turn, OSHA will then publish the data online for anyone to
access. There are also new requirements related to employee involvement in employer recordkeeping
practices and the prevention of discrimination and retaliation. Employers must inform each employee how to
properly report a work-related injury or illness. Further, employers must establish a reasonable procedure for
employee reporting. A process is not reasonable if it would prevent or discourage a reasonable employee
HRM 6302, Employment Law 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
from correctly reporting a workplace injury or illness. Employers must inform employees of their right to report
injuries and illnesses and inform them that they cannot be fired or discriminated against for reporting
(Petrides, 2016).
The twist is the impact on employer drug testing policies. In conjunction with this new rule, OSHA announced
that policies that call for across-the-board testing after an accident deter employees from reporting injuries
and may not be reasonable. OSHA indicates that employers should engage in post-injury drug testing only
when there is a reasonable potential that drug use by the reporting employee contributed to the injury or
illness and further, only when the test can precisely indicate that impairment was caused by the use of drugs
(Petrides, 2016). This guidance does not appear to prevent testing where there are facts that support that
drugs could have contributed to the incident, such as slurred speech, glazed eyes, stupor, or other signs
generally associated with drug or alcohol intoxication. Beyond this, it may be a challenge to determine when it
is appropriate to drug test employees following reported accidents, injuries, and illnesses.
Workplace violence is an area that can affect all employers and has increasingly been in the forefront of
OSHA’s attention. Workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or
other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the workplace. It includes a wide range of actions from
threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide (OSHA, n.d.-c). It can affect and involve
employees, clients, customers, and visitors. Among many incidents is one in 2010, which occurred as two
dozen employees worked at a Penske truck rental facility near Atlanta. A former employee, dressed in
camouflage, came to the facility and fatally shot three workers and injured two others. Subsequently, a
survivor of one of the workers killed in the shooting sued Penske, claiming that the company had been
making threats to come to the property and hurt employees and that the company therefore had an obligation
to protect its employees (Bluestein, 2010).
According to OSHA (n.d.-c), homicide is the fourth-leading cause of fatal occupational injuries in the United
States accounting for more than 400 of the workplace fatalities in 2014. Further, nearly 2 million American
workers report having been workplace violence victims annually and many cases go unreported (OSHA, n.d.-
c). While there is no magic way to predict where workplace violence will occur, OSHA has identified workers
with elevated risk of being victims of violence as those who exchange money with the public, delivery drivers,
healthcare professionals, public service workers, customer service agents, law enforcement personnel, and
workers who work by themselves or in small groups. Additional risk factors include working in a location
where there is the service of alcohol and working late at night or in areas with known high crime rates.
To combat workplace violence, OSHA recommends employers establish a zero-tolerance policy covering not
only workers, but also anyone exposed to workers in the workplace. Further, employers should assess their
workplaces, identify risk factors, and implement methods of reducing risk. Training, too, can reduce the
incidence of workplace violence and inform workers what concerns they should report, how to report
concerns, and how to respond if an incident occurs.
Clearly, establishing and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace is a goal that requires attention on a daily
basis, not only from HR staff, but also just as importantly from managers and workers. Government entities
such as OSHA protect workers in the workplace and require employers to provide risk reduction and safe
work environments through education, training, and government assistance. Within organizations, employers
must ensure management is knowledgeable about their responsibilities, as well as resources available to help
them achieve safety goals. HR has the responsibility of keeping this critical goal in front of the members of the
organization and avoiding complacency because just one incident can have devastating effects.
References
Bluestein, G. (2010, April 2). Widow: Penske warned of threats before shooting. Boston Globe.
http://archive.boston.com/business/articles/2010/04/02/widow_penske_warned_of_threats_before_sh
ooting/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2016, October 27). Employer-reported workplace injuries and illnesses – 2015
[News release]. U.S. Department of Labor.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/osh_10272016.pdf
HRM 6302, Employment Law 4
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-a). Law and regulations. United States Department of
Labor. https://www.osha.gov/law-regs.html
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-b). State plans. United States Department of Labor.
https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/index.html
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-c). Workplace violence. United States Department of
Labor. https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/
Petrides, T. H. (2016, May 19). OSHA issues new illness and injury recordkeeping rule that casts doubt upon
commonplace employer drug testing and safety incentive policies. The National Law Review, 6(140).
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/osha-issues-new-illness-and-injury-recordkeeping-rule-casts-
doubt-upon-commonplace
Pitiquen, J. (n.d.). Occupational safety (ID 24098844) [Graphic]. Dreamstime.
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-occupational-safety-image24098844
Smith, A. (2016, October 19). Steep new penalties under OSH Act raise compliance concerns. Society for
Human Resource Management. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-
compliance/employment-law/pages/osh-act-penalties.aspx
Suggested Unit Resources
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
The following PowerPoint presentation supplements the textbook chapter reading and is provided for further
knowledge and review of the unit materials.
Chapter 14 presentation (PowerPoint) or Chapter 14 presentation (PDF)
Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.
At the end of each chapter of your textbook, scenario-driven questions provide legal issues and realistic
situations that relate to employment law. Exploring these questions allows you the opportunity to further your
understanding of the concepts in each chapter and prepares you for similar situations you may encounter in
your workplace.
• Review the Chapter 14 questions in your textbook on pages 592–593.
**## EmploymentLawHRM6302UnitVIICaseStudy.docx**
2
Employment Law HRM 6302
Unit VII Case Study
Analyze the case of SeaWorld of Florida v. Perez, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 6660 (D.C. Cir.) located in your textbook on pp. 559-564, including the opinion of Judge Rodgers as well as the dissenting opinion of Judge (now-Supreme Court Justice) Brett Kavanaugh.
Write a case study review of the court’s opinion that answers the questions below. Support your review with analysis and evidence from the unit reading and outside sources.
· What are the legal issues enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and presented in this case? How did the plaintiff establish a valid violation under the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act? Explain how the elements of a valid claim were satisfied under the OSH Act.
· How does OSHA enforce workplace safety and health standards?
· Do you agree with the court’s decision? Should or could SeaWorld have done more to abate the hazard? Support your position.
Your paper should be a minimum of five pages, not including the title and reference pages. You are required to use a minimum of three sources, one of which may be your textbook as reference material for your case study. Adhere to APA Style when constructing this assignment, including in-text citations and references for all sources that are used. Please note that no abstract is needed.
This
**Case Study Example** provided by the CSU Writing Center shows this type of formatting.
**## UnitVIIStudyGuide.pdf**
HRM 6302, Employment Law 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
8. Evaluate the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) regulatory power in the context
of workplace safety.
8.1 Summarize the manner in which OSHA enforces workplace safety and health standards.
8.2 Explain the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act.
8.3 Assess a legal case for compliance with OSHA standards.
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 14: Occupational Safety and Health, pp. 551–591
Unit Lesson
The primary objective of workplace safety is the prevention of workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. In
2014, almost 4,821 U.S. workers died from workplace injuries. There were approximately 2.9 million nonfatal
workplace injuries and illnesses (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). These incidents cost businesses huge
sums of money and take a significant toll on the victims and their families. One death is too many, but the
number of deaths, injuries, and illnesses has generally declined over time, due in no small measure to safety
requirements at the federal level. Prior to the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) in
1970, only the common law bound employers to provide employees with a safe workplace. Further,
UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE
Occupational Safety and Health
Occupational Safety
(Pitiquen, n.d.)
HRM 6302, Employment Law 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
employers had several common law defenses that often enabled them to avoid liability. Employees had few
protections from unscrupulous employers who eschewed safety for profit.
The OSH Act covers almost all employers and employees and is critically important to those who support
employment law compliance. Any employer in a business affecting commerce is subject to and covered by
the OSH Act. The limited exceptions to coverage are primarily the self-employed and farms that employ only
immediate family of the owner. Workplaces covered by other federal laws, such as the mining, nuclear,
railroad, and airline industries, as well as state and local governments (unless otherwise permitted by state
law) are also excluded from the OSH Act (OSHA, n.d.-a).
The OSH Act imposes two basic requirements on employers to accomplish the goal of a safe workplace.
First, the employer must comply with all the safety and health standards set by the U.S. Department of Labor
(DOL). Second, the employer must furnish each of its employees a workplace free from recognized hazards
that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which falls under the DOL, is charged with
enforcing the OSH Act. OSHA translates the basic requirements imposed on employers by the OSH Act into
specific actions. OSHA holds employers responsible for proactively adopting safety practices, communicating
them to employees, ensuring employees use them, monitoring working conditions, alerting employees to
potential hazards, and reporting work-related deaths and injuries (OSHA, n.d.-a). OSHA has established
industry standards to inform employers how to guarantee a safe and healthy workplace. The four major
categories of OSHA standards are general, construction, maritime, and agriculture. To determine the industry
standards an employer needs to follow, he or she must determine the appropriate industry code that applies
to the organization within the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
While some OSHA standards are specific to one industry, many of them apply across industries, such as
standards for personal protective equipment and hazardous communication. Most employers will need to
implement a combination of standards including the associated training and safety inspection requirements to
be compliant. OSHA requires that employers prominently display federal workplace health and safety posters
in their workspaces.
To help employers navigate the requirements imposed on them, OSHA’s website contains a wealth of
information for various types of employers, including small businesses. The site’s resources include
interactive tools for both employers and employees. Every state has free workplace consultations available to
small businesses that want onsite help in establishing safety and health programs. This assistance will also
help in identifying and correcting workplace hazards. Additionally, OSHA has a network of compliance
assistance specialists in local offices to provide tailored information and training to employers and employees.
There are 22 states that have OSHA-approved job safety and health programs. These are operated by the
individual states instead of adhering to federal OSHA standards. All state plans are approved and monitored
by OSHA, and they require that state-run safety and health programs must be at least as effective as the
federal program. If the state programs are compliant, OSHA provides as much as 50% of the funding for each
program (OSHA, n.d.-b).
What is the downside of lax compliance with OSHA requirements? After years of a legal anomaly that
prevented OSHA from increasing penalties, in 2016, Congress passed legislation that allowed the agency to
adjust penalties to more appropriate and modern levels. Serious violations of the law increased from $7,000
to $12,471 per violation. Failure to abate dangerous or hazardous conditions rose from $7,000 to $12,471 per
date after the date recorded on an OSHA citation for correction of the violation. In addition, willful or repeated
violations increased from $70,000 to $124,709 per violation (Smith, 2016).
In 2016, OSHA released new injury and illness reporting rules that change the way employers have long done
business and in an unusual twist, call into question employers’ drug testing practices after accidents.
Traditionally, employers track and maintain injury information internally, though fatalities and serious injuries
must be reported to OSHA immediately. The new rule, however, requires electronic submission of the
information by the employer annually to OSHA. In turn, OSHA will then publish the data online for anyone to
access. There are also new requirements related to employee involvement in employer recordkeeping
practices and the prevention of discrimination and retaliation. Employers must inform each employee how to
properly report a work-related injury or illness. Further, employers must establish a reasonable procedure for
employee reporting. A process is not reasonable if it would prevent or discourage a reasonable employee
HRM 6302, Employment Law 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
from correctly reporting a workplace injury or illness. Employers must inform employees of their right to report
injuries and illnesses and inform them that they cannot be fired or discriminated against for reporting
(Petrides, 2016).
The twist is the impact on employer drug testing policies. In conjunction with this new rule, OSHA announced
that policies that call for across-the-board testing after an accident deter employees from reporting injuries
and may not be reasonable. OSHA indicates that employers should engage in post-injury drug testing only
when there is a reasonable potential that drug use by the reporting employee contributed to the injury or
illness and further, only when the test can precisely indicate that impairment was caused by the use of drugs
(Petrides, 2016). This guidance does not appear to prevent testing where there are facts that support that
drugs could have contributed to the incident, such as slurred speech, glazed eyes, stupor, or other signs
generally associated with drug or alcohol intoxication. Beyond this, it may be a challenge to determine when it
is appropriate to drug test employees following reported accidents, injuries, and illnesses.
Workplace violence is an area that can affect all employers and has increasingly been in the forefront of
OSHA’s attention. Workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or
other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the workplace. It includes a wide range of actions from
threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide (OSHA, n.d.-c). It can affect and involve
employees, clients, customers, and visitors. Among many incidents is one in 2010, which occurred as two
dozen employees worked at a Penske truck rental facility near Atlanta. A former employee, dressed in
camouflage, came to the facility and fatally shot three workers and injured two others. Subsequently, a
survivor of one of the workers killed in the shooting sued Penske, claiming that the company had been
making threats to come to the property and hurt employees and that the company therefore had an obligation
to protect its employees (Bluestein, 2010).
According to OSHA (n.d.-c), homicide is the fourth-leading cause of fatal occupational injuries in the United
States accounting for more than 400 of the workplace fatalities in 2014. Further, nearly 2 million American
workers report having been workplace violence victims annually and many cases go unreported (OSHA, n.d.-
c). While there is no magic way to predict where workplace violence will occur, OSHA has identified workers
with elevated risk of being victims of violence as those who exchange money with the public, delivery drivers,
healthcare professionals, public service workers, customer service agents, law enforcement personnel, and
workers who work by themselves or in small groups. Additional risk factors include working in a location
where there is the service of alcohol and working late at night or in areas with known high crime rates.
To combat workplace violence, OSHA recommends employers establish a zero-tolerance policy covering not
only workers, but also anyone exposed to workers in the workplace. Further, employers should assess their
workplaces, identify risk factors, and implement methods of reducing risk. Training, too, can reduce the
incidence of workplace violence and inform workers what concerns they should report, how to report
concerns, and how to respond if an incident occurs.
Clearly, establishing and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace is a goal that requires attention on a daily
basis, not only from HR staff, but also just as importantly from managers and workers. Government entities
such as OSHA protect workers in the workplace and require employers to provide risk reduction and safe
work environments through education, training, and government assistance. Within organizations, employers
must ensure management is knowledgeable about their responsibilities, as well as resources available to help
them achieve safety goals. HR has the responsibility of keeping this critical goal in front of the members of the
organization and avoiding complacency because just one incident can have devastating effects.
References
Bluestein, G. (2010, April 2). Widow: Penske warned of threats before shooting. Boston Globe.
http://archive.boston.com/business/articles/2010/04/02/widow_penske_warned_of_threats_before_sh
ooting/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2016, October 27). Employer-reported workplace injuries and illnesses – 2015
[News release]. U.S. Department of Labor.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/osh_10272016.pdf
HRM 6302, Employment Law 4
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-a). Law and regulations. United States Department of
Labor. https://www.osha.gov/law-regs.html
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-b). State plans. United States Department of Labor.
https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/index.html
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-c). Workplace violence. United States Department of
Labor. https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/
Petrides, T. H. (2016, May 19). OSHA issues new illness and injury recordkeeping rule that casts doubt upon
commonplace employer drug testing and safety incentive policies. The National Law Review, 6(140).
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/osha-issues-new-illness-and-injury-recordkeeping-rule-casts-
doubt-upon-commonplace
Pitiquen, J. (n.d.). Occupational safety (ID 24098844) [Graphic]. Dreamstime.
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-occupational-safety-image24098844
Smith, A. (2016, October 19). Steep new penalties under OSH Act raise compliance concerns. Society for
Human Resource Management. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-
compliance/employment-law/pages/osh-act-penalties.aspx
Suggested Unit Resources
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
The following PowerPoint presentation supplements the textbook chapter reading and is provided for further
knowledge and review of the unit materials.
Chapter 14 presentation (PowerPoint) or Chapter 14 presentation (PDF)
Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.
At the end of each chapter of your textbook, scenario-driven questions provide legal issues and realistic
situations that relate to employment law. Exploring these questions allows you the opportunity to further your
understanding of the concepts in each chapter and prepares you for similar situations you may encounter in
your workplace.
• Review the Chapter 14 questions in your textbook on pages 592–593.
**## EmploymentLawHRM6302UnitVIICaseStudy.docx**
2
Employment Law HRM 6302
Unit VII Case Study
Analyze the case of SeaWorld of Florida v. Perez, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 6660 (D.C. Cir.) located in your textbook on pp. 559-564, including the opinion of Judge Rodgers as well as the dissenting opinion of Judge (now-Supreme Court Justice) Brett Kavanaugh.
Write a case study review of the court’s opinion that answers the questions below. Support your review with analysis and evidence from the unit reading and outside sources.
· What are the legal issues enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and presented in this case? How did the plaintiff establish a valid violation under the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act? Explain how the elements of a valid claim were satisfied under the OSH Act.
· How does OSHA enforce workplace safety and health standards?
· Do you agree with the court’s decision? Should or could SeaWorld have done more to abate the hazard? Support your position.
Your paper should be a minimum of five pages, not including the title and reference pages. You are required to use a minimum of three sources, one of which may be your textbook as reference material for your case study. Adhere to APA Style when constructing this assignment, including in-text citations and references for all sources that are used. Please note that no abstract is needed.
This
**Case Study Example** provided by the CSU Writing Center shows this type of formatting.
**## UnitVIIStudyGuide.pdf**
HRM 6302, Employment Law 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
8. Evaluate the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) regulatory power in the context
of workplace safety.
8.1 Summarize the manner in which OSHA enforces workplace safety and health standards.
8.2 Explain the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act.
8.3 Assess a legal case for compliance with OSHA standards.
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 14: Occupational Safety and Health, pp. 551–591
Unit Lesson
The primary objective of workplace safety is the prevention of workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. In
2014, almost 4,821 U.S. workers died from workplace injuries. There were approximately 2.9 million nonfatal
workplace injuries and illnesses (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). These incidents cost businesses huge
sums of money and take a significant toll on the victims and their families. One death is too many, but the
number of deaths, injuries, and illnesses has generally declined over time, due in no small measure to safety
requirements at the federal level. Prior to the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) in
1970, only the common law bound employers to provide employees with a safe workplace. Further,
UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE
Occupational Safety and Health
Occupational Safety
(Pitiquen, n.d.)
HRM 6302, Employment Law 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
employers had several common law defenses that often enabled them to avoid liability. Employees had few
protections from unscrupulous employers who eschewed safety for profit.
The OSH Act covers almost all employers and employees and is critically important to those who support
employment law compliance. Any employer in a business affecting commerce is subject to and covered by
the OSH Act. The limited exceptions to coverage are primarily the self-employed and farms that employ only
immediate family of the owner. Workplaces covered by other federal laws, such as the mining, nuclear,
railroad, and airline industries, as well as state and local governments (unless otherwise permitted by state
law) are also excluded from the OSH Act (OSHA, n.d.-a).
The OSH Act imposes two basic requirements on employers to accomplish the goal of a safe workplace.
First, the employer must comply with all the safety and health standards set by the U.S. Department of Labor
(DOL). Second, the employer must furnish each of its employees a workplace free from recognized hazards
that are causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which falls under the DOL, is charged with
enforcing the OSH Act. OSHA translates the basic requirements imposed on employers by the OSH Act into
specific actions. OSHA holds employers responsible for proactively adopting safety practices, communicating
them to employees, ensuring employees use them, monitoring working conditions, alerting employees to
potential hazards, and reporting work-related deaths and injuries (OSHA, n.d.-a). OSHA has established
industry standards to inform employers how to guarantee a safe and healthy workplace. The four major
categories of OSHA standards are general, construction, maritime, and agriculture. To determine the industry
standards an employer needs to follow, he or she must determine the appropriate industry code that applies
to the organization within the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
While some OSHA standards are specific to one industry, many of them apply across industries, such as
standards for personal protective equipment and hazardous communication. Most employers will need to
implement a combination of standards including the associated training and safety inspection requirements to
be compliant. OSHA requires that employers prominently display federal workplace health and safety posters
in their workspaces.
To help employers navigate the requirements imposed on them, OSHA’s website contains a wealth of
information for various types of employers, including small businesses. The site’s resources include
interactive tools for both employers and employees. Every state has free workplace consultations available to
small businesses that want onsite help in establishing safety and health programs. This assistance will also
help in identifying and correcting workplace hazards. Additionally, OSHA has a network of compliance
assistance specialists in local offices to provide tailored information and training to employers and employees.
There are 22 states that have OSHA-approved job safety and health programs. These are operated by the
individual states instead of adhering to federal OSHA standards. All state plans are approved and monitored
by OSHA, and they require that state-run safety and health programs must be at least as effective as the
federal program. If the state programs are compliant, OSHA provides as much as 50% of the funding for each
program (OSHA, n.d.-b).
What is the downside of lax compliance with OSHA requirements? After years of a legal anomaly that
prevented OSHA from increasing penalties, in 2016, Congress passed legislation that allowed the agency to
adjust penalties to more appropriate and modern levels. Serious violations of the law increased from $7,000
to $12,471 per violation. Failure to abate dangerous or hazardous conditions rose from $7,000 to $12,471 per
date after the date recorded on an OSHA citation for correction of the violation. In addition, willful or repeated
violations increased from $70,000 to $124,709 per violation (Smith, 2016).
In 2016, OSHA released new injury and illness reporting rules that change the way employers have long done
business and in an unusual twist, call into question employers’ drug testing practices after accidents.
Traditionally, employers track and maintain injury information internally, though fatalities and serious injuries
must be reported to OSHA immediately. The new rule, however, requires electronic submission of the
information by the employer annually to OSHA. In turn, OSHA will then publish the data online for anyone to
access. There are also new requirements related to employee involvement in employer recordkeeping
practices and the prevention of discrimination and retaliation. Employers must inform each employee how to
properly report a work-related injury or illness. Further, employers must establish a reasonable procedure for
employee reporting. A process is not reasonable if it would prevent or discourage a reasonable employee
HRM 6302, Employment Law 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
from correctly reporting a workplace injury or illness. Employers must inform employees of their right to report
injuries and illnesses and inform them that they cannot be fired or discriminated against for reporting
(Petrides, 2016).
The twist is the impact on employer drug testing policies. In conjunction with this new rule, OSHA announced
that policies that call for across-the-board testing after an accident deter employees from reporting injuries
and may not be reasonable. OSHA indicates that employers should engage in post-injury drug testing only
when there is a reasonable potential that drug use by the reporting employee contributed to the injury or
illness and further, only when the test can precisely indicate that impairment was caused by the use of drugs
(Petrides, 2016). This guidance does not appear to prevent testing where there are facts that support that
drugs could have contributed to the incident, such as slurred speech, glazed eyes, stupor, or other signs
generally associated with drug or alcohol intoxication. Beyond this, it may be a challenge to determine when it
is appropriate to drug test employees following reported accidents, injuries, and illnesses.
Workplace violence is an area that can affect all employers and has increasingly been in the forefront of
OSHA’s attention. Workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or
other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the workplace. It includes a wide range of actions from
threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide (OSHA, n.d.-c). It can affect and involve
employees, clients, customers, and visitors. Among many incidents is one in 2010, which occurred as two
dozen employees worked at a Penske truck rental facility near Atlanta. A former employee, dressed in
camouflage, came to the facility and fatally shot three workers and injured two others. Subsequently, a
survivor of one of the workers killed in the shooting sued Penske, claiming that the company had been
making threats to come to the property and hurt employees and that the company therefore had an obligation
to protect its employees (Bluestein, 2010).
According to OSHA (n.d.-c), homicide is the fourth-leading cause of fatal occupational injuries in the United
States accounting for more than 400 of the workplace fatalities in 2014. Further, nearly 2 million American
workers report having been workplace violence victims annually and many cases go unreported (OSHA, n.d.-
c). While there is no magic way to predict where workplace violence will occur, OSHA has identified workers
with elevated risk of being victims of violence as those who exchange money with the public, delivery drivers,
healthcare professionals, public service workers, customer service agents, law enforcement personnel, and
workers who work by themselves or in small groups. Additional risk factors include working in a location
where there is the service of alcohol and working late at night or in areas with known high crime rates.
To combat workplace violence, OSHA recommends employers establish a zero-tolerance policy covering not
only workers, but also anyone exposed to workers in the workplace. Further, employers should assess their
workplaces, identify risk factors, and implement methods of reducing risk. Training, too, can reduce the
incidence of workplace violence and inform workers what concerns they should report, how to report
concerns, and how to respond if an incident occurs.
Clearly, establishing and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace is a goal that requires attention on a daily
basis, not only from HR staff, but also just as importantly from managers and workers. Government entities
such as OSHA protect workers in the workplace and require employers to provide risk reduction and safe
work environments through education, training, and government assistance. Within organizations, employers
must ensure management is knowledgeable about their responsibilities, as well as resources available to help
them achieve safety goals. HR has the responsibility of keeping this critical goal in front of the members of the
organization and avoiding complacency because just one incident can have devastating effects.
References
Bluestein, G. (2010, April 2). Widow: Penske warned of threats before shooting. Boston Globe.
http://archive.boston.com/business/articles/2010/04/02/widow_penske_warned_of_threats_before_sh
ooting/
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2016, October 27). Employer-reported workplace injuries and illnesses – 2015
[News release]. U.S. Department of Labor.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/osh_10272016.pdf
HRM 6302, Employment Law 4
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-a). Law and regulations. United States Department of
Labor. https://www.osha.gov/law-regs.html
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-b). State plans. United States Department of Labor.
https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/index.html
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (n.d.-c). Workplace violence. United States Department of
Labor. https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/
Petrides, T. H. (2016, May 19). OSHA issues new illness and injury recordkeeping rule that casts doubt upon
commonplace employer drug testing and safety incentive policies. The National Law Review, 6(140).
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/osha-issues-new-illness-and-injury-recordkeeping-rule-casts-
doubt-upon-commonplace
Pitiquen, J. (n.d.). Occupational safety (ID 24098844) [Graphic]. Dreamstime.
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-occupational-safety-image24098844
Smith, A. (2016, October 19). Steep new penalties under OSH Act raise compliance concerns. Society for
Human Resource Management. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-
compliance/employment-law/pages/osh-act-penalties.aspx
Suggested Unit Resources
In order to access the following resources, click the links below.
The following PowerPoint presentation supplements the textbook chapter reading and is provided for further
knowledge and review of the unit materials.
Chapter 14 presentation (PowerPoint) or Chapter 14 presentation (PDF)
Learning Activities (Nongraded)
Nongraded Learning Activities are provided to aid students in their course of study. You do not have to submit
them. If you have questions, contact your instructor for further guidance and information.
At the end of each chapter of your textbook, scenario-driven questions provide legal issues and realistic
situations that relate to employment law. Exploring these questions allows you the opportunity to further your
understanding of the concepts in each chapter and prepares you for similar situations you may encounter in
your workplace.
• Review the Chapter 14 questions in your textbook on pages 592–593.
– 1
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